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L. S. STR EY.

GAR COUPLING.

' NrTE STATES PATENT rrrcn.

LINDSAY S. 'STREPEY, OF ASPEN JUNCTION, COLORADO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALFTO JOHN A. SMITH AND WILLIAM CONERTY, OF SAME PLACE.

CAR-COUPLING. I

SPECIFICATION forming part oi Letters Patent No. 536,741, dated April 2,18 95. Application filed June 25,1894. Serial No. 515,586. (N modell) Toall whom it may concern.-

Beit known that I, LINDSAY S. STREPEY, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residing at Aspen Junction, in the county of Eagle and State ofColorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inOar-Couplers; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, and to the figures of referencemarked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention. relates to improvements in car couplers; and my object isto providea device of this class which shall be simple in construction,economical in cost, reliable, du-

through two adjacent draw-heads, the coup-v ling devices being shown inelevation, one being in the coupled and the other in the uncoupledposition. Fig. 2 is a top or plan view of the draw-heads, the one on theleft being shown in horizontal section. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary end viewof a car provided with a draw-head, shown on a small scale, and equippedwith my improved coupling device, shown in connection with suitablemechanism attached to the end of the car for raising the coupling deviceto the uncoupled position.

Similiar reference characters indicating corresponding parts in theviews, let the numeral 5 designate the draw-head provided with the linkrecess 6, and an opening 7 in the top communicating with the linkrecess. In the draw-head is located the coupling device 8 pivoted on apin 9 passed through the upper front part of the draw-head and anaperture formed in the corresponding part of the coupling device. Thiscoupling device is provided with the hook-shaped part 8, the upwardlyprojecting rear part 8 provided with an aperture, and the recessed upperpart 8 In the upper forward part of the coupling device is located a bar12 adapted to slide in an aperture formed in said device. The ex- 5 5tremities of this bar are enlarged to prevent its slipping out of theaperture in which it is adapted to move.

Tothe part 8 of the coupling device is attached a chain 13 whose upperextremity is connected with an arm 14 made fast to a transverse bar 15rotatably attached to the end of the car and provided with cranks 15 atits extremities, whereby the rod may be manipulated andthe couplingdevice raised to the position shown at the left in Fig. 1, andtemporarily fastened, by the weight of the bar 15 and the cranks 15,which weight, together with the friction between the bar and itsbearings attached to the end of the car is suf- 7o ficient to overcomethe gravity of the coupling device and automatically support the latterin the raised position until the coupling device is thrown down by theengagement of the link with the set bar 12 in the manner hereinafter sotforth. This raising of the coupling device leaves the link 10, which isof ordinary construction, free to move out of the draw-head. As thecoupling device is raised, the sliding bar 12 moves downward by gravity,its lower or forward portion occupying a position in the path of thelink as it moves out of the draw-head. Hence, as the link 10 engages thebar 12, the coupling device is thrown downward from the position shownat the left in Fig. 1 to that shown at the right in the same figure. Thecoupling device is therefore set by the link, or placed in a positionready for coupling automatically. When in the position ready for coupoling, one extremity of the link is located in the draw-head and engagedby the coupling device, while the opposite extremity protrudes from thedraw-head and is ready to engage the curved face of the opposite coup- 5ling device as the draw-heads approach each other. The link is held inthe horizontal position by the gravity of the coupling device belongingto the draw-head carrying the link.

As the protruding extremity of the link en- Ioo gages the couplingdevice of the opposite draw-head, said device is raised sufficiently toallow the link to slip into the draw-head, when the coupling devicefalls by gravity to the coupling position and holds the link extremity,the cars being coupled.

Having thus described myinvention, what I claim is In a car coupler, thecombination with the draw-head having an opening in the topcommunicating with the link recess, the hooked coupling device supportedon a pivot located in the upper forward part of the draw-head, the setbar slidingly attached to the upper forward part of the coupling device,whereby when said device is raised in uncoupling the cars, the said barmoves to a position in the path of the link as it passes out of thedrawhead, and means for raising the coupling device to the uncoupledposition, said means 20 LINDSAY S. STREPEY.

Witnesses:

G. J. ROLLANDET, CHAS. E. DAWSON.

